Monday Watch

Earnings of Note
Company/Estimate
IFIN/.51
JBHT/.55
MDC/2.73
TSCO/.22

Splits
None of note.

Economic Data
None of note.

Weekend Recommendations
Forbes on Fox had guests that were positive on SLB and COST. Barron's had positive comments on HD and negative comments on NEW and AAPL.

Weekend News
Followers of Shiite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr reached an agreement with the Iraqi interim government to end attacks in Baghdad's Sadr City district, AFP reported. The FDA considers it unlikely that enough flu vaccinations will be available for use this winter after a bacterial contamination at Chiron's U.K. plant that makes the vaccine, the NY Times said. The report by Charles Duelfer, the top U.S. arms inspector in Iraq, that said French companies and high-ranking government officials profited from former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's efforts to buy weapons and influence policy through the UN oil-for-food program has damaged U.S.-French relations, the NY Times reported. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said the U.S. may start pulling troops out of Iraq after the country's national elections in January, Reuters reported. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce will target Democratic VP nominee John Edwards in a new ad campaign that seeks to portray the former trial lawyer as contributing to a crisis in U.S. medical care, Time magazine reported. Howard Stern, host of the top-rated radio show for young men in NY and LA, may earn about $65 million annually with Sirius Satellite Radio, Barron's reported. New York City employment will rise by about 50,000 jobs this year, the first increase since the stock market bubble burst in early 2000, Crain's New York said. Merck KGaA is selling more of its Erbitux colon-cancer treatment than it expected, CEO Scheuble told Financial Times Deutschland newspaper. Merck & Co. may avoid costly legal damages related to the Vioxx painkiller, because lawyers will have a hard time proving that the drug harmed the health of users, the Star-Ledger reported. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has had success in convincing oil companies to cut pollution levels, as 41% of refiners agreed to settlements with the agency over the past four years, the NY Times reported. Major U.S. pharmaceutical companies "without question" are a group that would see intense regulatory pressure under a Kerry presidency, Morgan Stanley analyst Rubin told the NY Times. Negotiators for both chambers of the U.S. Congress approved $11.6 billion in aid for hurricane victims in Florida and other eastern states, Bloomberg said. Afghans turned out in "massive" numbers for the nation's first direct presidential election, a UN spokesman said. French President Chirac told his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao he wants to end the European Union's 15-year embargo on arms sales to China, introduced after troops killed student demonstrators in Tiananmen Square in 1989, Bloomberg reported. Australian Prime Minister Howard, one of the United States' strongest allies in the Iraq war, won a stunning fourth term in office with an increased majority after pledging to extend 13 years of economic growth, keep interest rates low and cut taxes, Bloomberg reported. Howard's government may also become the first since 1981 to control the upper house Senate, which would allow him to pass previously stalled legislation, Bloomberg said.

Late-Night Trading
Asian indices are quietly mixed, unch. to +.25% on average.
S&P 500 indicated +.22%.
NASDAQ 100 indicated +.38%

BOTTOM LINE: I expect U.S. stocks to open modestly higher in the morning on short-covering after Friday's Presidential debate. The Portfolio is 75% net long heading into the week.